Sea Turtles
Grenada's coastal and offshore waters are home to five species of sea turtle – the leatherback, hawksbill, green, olive ridley, and loggerhead. The leatherback, the world's largest living turtle and the only species without a hard shell, is the dominant nester on Grenada's mainland beaches, with Levera Beach serving as the island's primary nesting ground. Ocean Spirits Inc. has led sea turtle research and monitoring at Levera since 2000, building one of the most complete sea turtle datasets in the region, and works within the standards set by the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST). SPECTO, the St. Patrick's Environmental and Community Tourism Organization, has managed the community-based nesting tours at Levera Beach since 2010, under a co-management mandate with the Government of Grenada.
Five Species, Five Different Stories
The leatherback is globally listed as Vulnerable, but the Northwest Atlantic population – the group that nests in Grenada – is classified as Endangered because of steep regional declines across the wider Caribbean and South America (IUCN Red List summary, via WIDECAST; Eckert & Hart, 2021). Levera Beach is the species' primary nesting ground in Grenada, with a nesting season running from March through August. Nesting there has declined in recent seasons, continuing a longer-term downward trend (Ocean Spirits Inc. 2023 summary report; Ocean Spirits Inc. 2024 summary report). Hatching success is also low – microbial growth inside the egg chamber and bacterial infection in hatchlings both reduce the number of eggs that survive to hatch (Charles et al., 2023).
The hawksbill is globally Critically Endangered (IUCN Red List summary, via WIDECAST). It nests primarily on the remote offshore islands of Isle de Caille, Isle de Ronde, and Carriacou, between May and October. Mainland nesting is rare, though isolated nests have been recorded at Levera Beach in recent seasons (Ocean Spirits Inc. 2023 summary report; Ocean Spirits Inc. 2024 summary report). In-water surveys have also documented hawksbills foraging at sites across multiple life stages (Ocean Spirits Inc. 2023 summary report).
The green turtle is globally Endangered (IUCN Red List summary, via WIDECAST). It nests sporadically and year-round, but predominantly uses Grenada's nearshore waters and offshore islands as foraging grounds rather than mainland beaches for nesting, with in-water surveys documenting its presence at foraging sites (Ocean Spirits Inc. 2023 summary report).
The olive ridley and loggerhead are both infrequent visitors to Grenadian waters, and far less is documented about either species here than about the leatherback, hawksbill, or green. The first recorded olive ridley nest at Levera Beach was documented in 2023 (Ocean Spirits Inc. 2023 summary report). Loggerhead status and location in Grenada remain largely undocumented.
Beyond the differences between species, some pressures affect all five. Illegal egg poaching once posed a severe threat at Levera, with a substantial share of nests raided at some sites before Ocean Spirits' patrols reduced that threat considerably on the main index beach (Ocean Spirits, research and monitoring).
Research & Monitoring
Ocean Spirits Inc. leads sea turtle research and monitoring in Grenada, working closely with the Fisheries Division and maintaining nesting and in-water datasets that now span more than two decades (Ocean Spirits, research and monitoring). This long-term record anchors regional understanding of the Northwest Atlantic leatherback population and directly shapes national conservation priorities for every species that uses Grenada's waters.
All protocols and findings are openly accessible through the Sea Turtle Research Repository (OSF).
